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The behavioral and cultural stratigraphic contexts of the lithic assemblages from Schöningen
Journal of Human Evolution xxx (2015) 1e11
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The behavioral and cultural stratigraphic contexts of the lithic € ningen assemblages from Scho Jordi Serangeli a, *, Nicholas J. Conard a, b a b
€t Tübingen, Burgsteige 11, 72070 Tübingen, Germany Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte, Eberhard Karls Universita Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Paleoecology, Burgsteige 11, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
a r t i c l e i n f o
a b s t r a c t
Article history: Received 16 December 2013 Accepted 12 July 2015 Available online xxx
€ningen, the presence of hominins is repeatedly Within the various archaeological horizons in Scho demonstrated by the recovery of stone artifacts, broken bones, and bones with cut marks. The Spear Horizon, 13 IIe4, with its ca. 1500 stone artifacts and ca. 12,000 faunal remains, represents by far the € ningen. Systematic waterscreening over a period of 15 years has richest archaeological layers in Scho fostered the recovery of numerous small flakes that otherwise would have remained undetected. Based on the stone artifacts published by H. Thieme and the lithic artifacts recovered from the ongoing excavations of the University of Tübingen and the Archaeological Heritage Office of Lower Saxony since 2008, we present here the main aspects of these lithic assemblages. The main features of the lithic assemblages recovered from the different find horizons and concentrations provide a consistent signature, suggesting a robust and repetitive technological strategy. The assemblages, which are made of local, high quality flint, lack handaxes and are clearly not related to the Acheulean. Intensely retouched scrapers, as well as denticulates, notched pieces, and points on thick flakes, angular debris, and non-anthropogenic thermal spalls are the most numerous retouched forms. The assemblages also contain a smaller number of thinner forms. Reduction sequences are short and Levallois technology is absent. Although some of the retouched forms are reminiscent of the Middle Paleolithic, the relatively non-standardized short reduction sequences technically oriented toward the production of thick and broad flakes are consistent with a classification in the late Lower Paleolithic. © 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Keywords: Middle Pleistocene Lower Paleolithic Lithic technology Germany Central Europe
1. Introduction The Lower Paleolithic archaeological horizons and artifact scat€ ningen (Fig. 1) ters from the Reinsdorf Interglacial of MIS 9 in Scho have become world famous due to the recovery of many beautifully preserved wooden artifacts. The great emphasis placed on the wooden spears and other wooden artifacts has led to the neglect of € ningen. Until now only a handful of the lithic assemblages from Scho the more than 1500 lithic artifacts recovered during Hartmut Thieme's excavations between 1992 and 2007 have been published. This paper represents the first attempt to summarize the overall € ningen. Based upon the characteristics of the lithic industry in Scho 17 stone artifacts published by H. Thieme and D. Mania featured in different publications (Mania, 1995; Thieme and Maier, 1995; Thieme, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2007), combined with the 133 stone
* Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (J. Serangeli).
artifacts recovered from the ongoing excavations of the University of Tübingen and the archaeological heritage office of Lower Saxony (2008 to present day), we can provide a preliminary but representative review of the main features of the assemblages (Table 1). The available data indicates that the different concentrations and isolated finds belong to the same technological system, and because the lithic finds were recovered from near the shore of a paleolake, they likely reflect similar activities and economic strategies. 2. The raw material € ningen was completely During the Elsterian, the region of Scho covered by a glacier. The analysis of the glacial drift demonstrates a Scandinavian or west-Baltic origin for the materials transported by €ningen (Tschee, 1991; the Elsterian glaciers in and around Scho Hoffmann and Meyer, 1997). The erosional processes, including high pressure melt water occurring below the Elsterian ice sheet, produced a tunnel valley at the foot of the Elm ridge that overlooks €ningen (Lang and Winsemann, 2012; Lang et al., 2012, 2015). Scho
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.07.004 0047-2484/© 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Please cite this article in press as: Serangeli, J., Conard, N.J., The behavioral and cultural stratigraphic contexts of the lithic assemblages from € ningen, Journal of Human Evolution (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.07.004 Scho
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€ ningen. The shaded areas highlight the western lakeshore area of the Middle Pleistocene Figure 1. Map of the excavated areas with Pleistocene layers in the open cast mine in Scho lake in two major events indicated as I and II.
Please cite this article in press as: Serangeli, J., Conard, N.J., The behavioral and cultural stratigraphic contexts of the lithic assemblages from € ningen, Journal of Human Evolution (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.07.004 Scho
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Table 1.1 € ningen 12 II and 13 I.a Artifacts and natural stones from Scho € n 12 IIe1 (aec)b Scho Artifacts
Unmodified stones
a b
Chips (<1 cm) Small flakes (>1 cm, <2 cm) Flakes (>2 cm) Worked clasts Core and core-like artifacts Total artifacts Flint Pebble (<2 cm) Pebble (>2 cm) Total natural stones Total
€n 12 IIe2 (c) Scho
€ n 12 IIe3 (b/c) Scho
€n 12 IIe4 (c) Scho
€n 13 I Scho
Total
12
3
5
2
22
2 1 15 19
3 1 7 24
1 1 7 23
1
7 3 32 66
6 25 40
1 25 32
1 1 1
3
8 31 38
3
16 82 114
All these layers have been excavated very quickly with spade and shovel in so-called rescue excavations. € ningen 12 B, FS 1. Including six stone tools from the site Scho
Table 1.2 €ningen 12 II and 13 I. Retouched artifacts or artifacts with evidence of use (see Rots et al., 2015) from Scho € n 12 IIe1 (aec)a Scho Tools
a
Only evidence of use-wear Denticulated pieces Notched pieces Scraper Retouched flake Hammerstone Total tools
€ n 12 IIe2 (c) Scho
€ n 12 IIe3 (b/c) Scho
€ n 12 IIe4 (c) Scho
3 2
€n 13 I Scho
3 1 2
1 1 1 8
4
4
5
1
Total 6 3 2 5 1 1 18
€ ningen 12 B, FS 1. Including six stone tools from the site Scho
Table 1.3 € ningen 13 II.a Artifacts and unmodified stones from Scho
Artifacts
Unmodified stones
€n 13 IIe1 Scho (aec)
€n 13 IIe2 Scho (bec)b
1 1
1 3 1
Chips (<1 cm) Small flakes (>1 cm, <2 cm) Flakes (>2 cm) Worked clasts Core like artifacts, Dev. quar. Total artifacts Flint Pebble (<2 cm) Pebble (>2 cm) Total natural stones Total
2 6
€ n 13 IIe3 Scho (b/c) 1 1 1
5 12 4
2 8 10
3
16 21
3
€ n 13 IIe4 (aec) Scho Speersockel
€n 13 IIe4 (aec) Scho Obere Berme
Total
17 17 6 2 1 43 3
34 24 3 4
52 46 12 7 1 118 25 6 4 35 153
3 46
65 4 2 2 8 73
a € n 13 II e 1, 13 II e 2 and 13 II e 3 were excavated mainly with spade and shovel, the layers from Scho € n 13 II e 4 have been very carefully excavated and The layers from Scho since 2008 the archaeologically relevant sediments have been continuously water screened using a sieve with a two millimeter mesh. b € ningen 13 II-2c is rich in sand and natural stones and chips. The square meter X 677/Y 17, layer Scho € ningen 13 II-2c, has been water screened using a sieve The layer Scho with a 2 mm mesh to a sediment depth of 20 cm. The result (ID 25174) was ca. 800 stones smaller than 2 cm without any man-made modifications and nearly 40 probably nonanthropogenic chips.
Table 1.4 €ningen 13 II. Retouched artifacts or artifacts with evidence of use (see Rots et al., 2015) from Scho €n 13 IIe1 (aec) Scho Tools
€n 13 IIe2 (bec) Scho
Only evidences of use-wear Denticulated pieces Notched pieces Scraper Points Retouched flake Hammerstone Total tools
Within this depression the retreat of the Elsterian glacier from the northern edges of the Harz Mountains left behind till, meltwater sediments, and glaciolacustrine deposits. A lake that developed above these deposits was repeatedly visited by hominins. The thick
€ n 13 IIe3 (b/c) Scho
€n 13 IIe4 (aec) Scho Speersockel
€n 13 IIe4 (aec) Scho Obere Berme
Total
1
5 1
1 1
7 2 1
6
2
10
1 2
interglacial sediments corresponding to the locally defined Reinsdorf Interglacial (Urban, 1995; Urban and Bigga, 2015) gradually filled the lake, preserving a high resolution record of environmental change and hominin settlement dynamics. The subsequent cooling
Please cite this article in press as: Serangeli, J., Conard, N.J., The behavioral and cultural stratigraphic contexts of the lithic assemblages from € ningen, Journal of Human Evolution (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.07.004 Scho
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of the Drenthe stage of the Saalian (MIS 8) once again led to the spread of a massive glacier covering the area of the current lignite €ningen. Nearly everywhere, the Middle Pleistocene mine in Scho sediments were eroded by the glacier. Only in the subglacial depression, left behind by the retreating Elsterian glacier, were sediments preserved. To understand the accessibility of flint as a raw material during the Reinsdorf Interglacial, we need to consider the content and potential exposures of the flint-bearing Elsterian deposits. € ningen, numerous pebbles and nodules of flint together In Scho with rare, larger flint nodules weighing more than 10 kg are found in the Elsterian till. At present this till is exposed in the lignite mine and reaches a maximum thickness of 15 m. Numerous natural flint pebbles, nodules, and debris with evidence of thermal damage also occur in the Elsterian deposits following the first lacustrine silty sequence. This was documented under the interglacial lake de€ningen 12 II, Plateau 6, and under the archaeological posits of Scho € ningen 13 IIe1. Thieme (2007) describes the preslayers of Scho ence of coarse sand, gravel, large cobbles, and thermal spalls of € ningen 13 I. flint in the main archaeological horizon of Scho Through the current excavation in the same archaeological layers € ningen 13 I, we have been able to corroborate this stateof Scho ment. The natural flint from all these layers is the same as that used for the manufacture of the stone artifacts in the archaeological layers and consists of west-Baltic and Scandinavian flint of mostly excellent quality. The flint is glassy, homogeneous, and is often of a dark gray or black color. Some pieces have a lighter brown color, and occasionally banded flint is present in the natural deposits as well as in the artifact assemblages. In particular, the site €ningen 12 IIe1 (previously published as Scho €ningen 12 B, of Scho FS 1) yielded artifacts of a brown flint. Even today, the edges of the artifacts are very sharp. The rolled cortex is smooth and very thin. The cortex is always less than 1 mm thick, and it contrasts sharply with the silicate core. These observations allow us to identify more € ningen as than 90% of the used and retouched artifacts from Scho €gberg and Olausson, 2007: high quality Senonian Flint (see Ho 88e91). The artifacts never have pronounced patinas, and in most cases, patinas are completely absent. Some dark flints of particularly good € ningen 13 IIe4) and quality recovered from the Spear Horizon (Scho €ningen 12 IIe4 show a dark to from the archaeological layers Scho black patina with silver “greasy” luster, sometimes referred to as €gberg and freshwater patina (Harm Paulsen, pers. comm.; Ho Olausson, 2007: 69; Fig. 2.1). This dark patina resembles the color of the bones and teeth recovered in the corresponding find layers and is typical for finds submerged in fresh water or saturated sediments over a long period (Thieme, 2007). Many of the stone artifacts from Germany that date to the Middle Pleistocene originate from gravel pits and strip mines, such € rde, Saxon-Anhalt), Wallendorf (District as Hundisburg (District Bo Saalekreis, Saxon-Anhalt), and Markkleeberg (District of Leipzig, Saxony). Weber (2004) has argued that it seems as if the extensive outcrops of loose gravel and sand layers found along the banks of rivers and lake shores attracted hominins. This is understandable when one considers that the landscape, particularly during warm, humid periods, would normally be covered by dense vegetation, making these exposed deposits rich in flint particularly important. Flint was only easily accessible in certain places where the rivers had deposited thick gravels or where erosion laid bare older hori€ ningen are all situated within the shore zone zons. The sites in Scho of a paleolake, where several streams flowing down from the Elm likely exposed flint-bearing gravels, providing good access to knappable flint. Only one artifact (ID 25182) with few negative scars from the Spear Horizon could be identified as Devonian quartzite.
€ ningen 3. The lithic assemblage from Scho In at least 24 of the more than 30 find horizons, excavators have recovered flint artifacts. The largest assemblage, with approximately 1500 (Thieme, 2007) stone artifacts, originates from €ningen 13 IIe4, the so called “Spear Horizon” that also conScho tained the remains of more than 40 horses, many of which have been intensely butchered, and 9 spears (Thieme, 2007; Voormolen, 2008). Nearly 90% of the stone artifacts from the main find horizon are small flakes, chips, and debris created by retouching (Thieme, 2007). The overall number of the larger retouched pieces does not exceed a few dozen artifacts (Fig. 2). €ningen 12 IIe1 (which is the Other important sites are Scho €ningen 12 B, FS 1), Scho €ningen 12 IIe2 (which continuation of Scho €ningen 12 B, FS 2), and Scho € ningen 13 I is the continuation of Scho (for more details see Serangeli et al., 2015). Since 2011, we have excavated an area that is a continuation of the Spear Horizon on the “Obere Berme” (Upper Berm), which we call “Spear Horizon south.” Here the crew has recovered numerous faunal remains and occasional flint artifacts. Some areas of the Spear Horizon south have documented more than 45 finds per square meter. So far only 100 m2 of this archaeological horizon has been excavated, and the geological setting indicates that several hundred square meters of the find horizon still await excavation. All the other horizons have yielded a low number of stone artifacts, ranging between one and several. Some fossil-bearing horizons, for example horizon 13 DB, did not yield any stone artifacts or evidence of human presence, but are nonetheless still important in understanding the evolution of the ecosystem and climate €ningen landscape. within the Scho The low number of artifacts in the small assemblages, except in €ningen 13 IIe4, precludes a statistical analysis of the flint arScho tifacts from the other accumulations (Table 1). Furthermore, the different modalities used in the excavations, for example rescue excavation as opposed to research excavation in some endangered areas, have produced differences, particularly in the small assemblages, and this makes a comparison between the various collections complex. These difficulties may help explain why only 17 of the most characteristic artifacts have been published by Thieme (Thieme and Maier, 1995). Because all the sites dealt with here are dated within the short period of the Reinsdorf Interglacial (MIS 9), and the sediments are not reworked older sediments, we are able to analyze the various small collections as a well-defined chrono-cultural unit. Based on our observations from multiple find horizons and from Thieme's publica€ ningen provide a consistent picture tions, the lithics from Scho suggesting that the technology and typology of the different find horizons fit within a single industry of the late Middle Pleistocene. Thermal flint spalls are present in all the archaeological layers, € ningen used these natural frost and the hominins occupying Scho spalls as blanks for making tools. Since these spalls are often much larger than the naturally occurring clasts within the matrix of the fine grained archaeological horizons, we suggest that hominins deliberately collected these examples of frost debris for immediate use or as raw material for a later reduction (Fig. 3.7). These natural blanks appear with such regularity that their collection by hominins can only reflect a systematic technological and economic strategy in €ningen. In some cases, hominins may have knapped larger Scho pieces of flint with natural frost-fissures outside the confines of the archaeological site, and the flints obtained in our ongoing and in Thieme's areas of excavation preserve evidence of both natural and human processes. In both cases, the selection of adequate natural products to use as blanks plays a central role in the reduction sequences, which mainly took place outside of the excavated archae€ningen. For some of the medial fragments of ological sites in Scho
Please cite this article in press as: Serangeli, J., Conard, N.J., The behavioral and cultural stratigraphic contexts of the lithic assemblages from € ningen, Journal of Human Evolution (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.07.004 Scho
J. Serangeli, N.J. Conard / Journal of Human Evolution xxx (2015) 1e11
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€ningen 12 II: 1) Knife-like scraper with evidence of frost damage (ID 17961); 2) Scraper on flake, proximal ventral thinned (ID 18064); 3) Scraper on flake with notch Figure 2. Scho on the distal end, proximal ventral thinned (ID 18631); 4) Flake with retouch from use (ID 17444); 5) Massive flake with ventral retouch (17922); 6) Massive flake with retouch (ID € ningen 12 IIe2; 2 from 17981); 7) Notched core tool with evidences of use (ID 18628); 8) Flake with lateral retouch and secondary frost damage (ID 18606). 1, 6, and 8 from Scho €ningen 12 IIe1; 3, 4, 5, and 7 from Scho €ningen 12e4. Photos: C.S. Fuchs; Drawings: S. Boos. Scho
flint, it is difficult if not impossible to distinguish if they are medial parts of natural frost-shards or if they are medial parts of flakes produced by hominins. Thieme (2007) has commented that the presence of thermally broken flint has hindered the analysis of the artifact assemblages from his excavations. This situation is further complicated by the observation that some of the artifacts suffered thermal damage after they were knapped. We hope in the future to be able to refit thermal spalls in some of these cases to the artifacts
from which they originate to improve our understanding of the €ningen (e.g., Fig. 2.8). taphonomy of the find horizons in Scho 4. Technology €ningen reflects flake The core reduction technology at Scho production via hard hammer percussion. The reduction sequences are short, and the flakes show few dorsal negatives. This suggests
Please cite this article in press as: Serangeli, J., Conard, N.J., The behavioral and cultural stratigraphic contexts of the lithic assemblages from € ningen, Journal of Human Evolution (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.07.004 Scho
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the opportunistic use of selected, natural thermal spalls as blanks. Levallois technology is entirely lacking, helping to place the assemblages in the late Lower Paleolithic rather than in the early Middle Paleolithic (Bosinski, 1967; Conard and Fischer, 2000). The flakes are not of standardized form, and diverse blanks have been used and modified. Large flakes, thin flakes, large natural flint spalls, cores, and pebbles are present in the assemblages. Several thin flakes and chips with diffuse bulbs and lips on the ventral surface demonstrate the repeated application of soft hammer percussion (Fig. 3.9e3.20), as well as the more typical direct hard hammer percussion. This observation is supported by the presence of several dozen examples of faunal hammers and retouchers from the Spear Horizon that were used for chipping flint (Voormolen, 2008; van Kolfschoten et al., 2015). € ningen flint blanks have been made with little if any In Scho preparation. The flakes are mostly broad, with prominent bulbs, large unprepared striking platforms, fissures, and multiple cones of percussion documenting the production of flakes using a hard hammerstone (Fig. 2.4e2.5). In some cases completely natural flints and thermal spalls were used as blanks for tools. While most tools preserve heavy retouch, flakes occasionally carry fine retouch from use, indicating that flakes and spalls with un-retouched edges have also been used (Fig. 2.4; Rots et al., 2015). €ningen reflects an In summary, the flint technology used in Scho opportunistic pattern of simple hard hammer percussion in short reduction sequences combined with the use of natural spalls and thermally broken chunks of flint as blanks for tools. Classical cores are absent in our assemblages; perhaps three artifacts have a “corelike” character, but they show only one or two negative scars from the removal of flakes (Fig. 2.7 and 4.14). In the assemblages from Thieme's excavations, cores are only rarely present (Fig. 4.10). Cortical flakes are also rare; this may in part reflect the use of natural thermal flakes as blanks for tools. Furthermore, the assemblage from the Spear Horizon mainly represents distal products from the short reduction sequences rather than documenting continuous sequences of production (Fig. 3). Thus, a relatively high proportion of the artifacts and especially the retouch finds appear to have been brought to the site in finished form. This being said, the presence of small debris from retouching the edges of artifacts indicates that the finds were often modified and re-sharpened after they were brought into the area of excavation (Thieme, 2007). 5. Typology of retouched tools €ningen is domiThe spectrum of the retouched flint tools in Scho nated by scrapers, points, and notched or denticulated pieces (Figs. 2e4; Thieme, 2007). The retouched blanks are of a very diverse nature. Various tools are made of thin flakes or thin frost shards. Some thicker blanks have been intentionally thinned on the dorsal or ventral surfaces, which may be related to hafting (Figs. 2.2e2.3, 3.1, and 3.8). Other retouched tools have been made using diverse large blanks, including flakes, frost debris, and chipped or broken flint nodules. In the Spear Horizon, some of the retouched artifacts show similar characteristics in the form and in the retouching of the edges (e.g., Fig. 3.3e3.6). We suppose that such a degree of repetitive behavior with regard to the abandoned tools may be less dependent on the form of blank used, but rather the consequence of repeated retouching. This aspect will be addressed in more detail in the future, when more artifacts are available for study. Notches represent one of the more frequent tool types and were often made with only one or perhaps a few direct blows (Figs. 2.3, 4.8e4.9). At times it is difficult to distinguish between notched tools and cores (Fig. 2.7). Many of the scrapers are very carefully made and call to mind similar pieces from the Middle Paleolithic. The small number of
scrapers from the new excavations and published finds from Thieme's excavation does not permit us to define specific classes of scrapers. At present we can only say that besides fine, narrow, and thin scrapers, there also exist larger knife-like scrapers and cutting tools (Figs. 2.1e2.3, 3.1, 3.3e3.6, and 3.8). The retouch on the scrapers is mostly abrupt, stepped, or scalar, and some of the artifacts preserve Quina and Quina-like retouch. Some very thin flakes and chips also show the repeated application of flat rather than abrupt retouch. Only a few pieces show any signs of being worked bifacially. An exception is a flake with partially bifacial knapping and an artifact with irregular bifacial retouch (Fig. 4.6e4.7). Handaxes are lacking €ningen. in all find horizons in Scho Although the assemblages are small, the retouched pieces from the later part of the Reinsdorf interglacial (13 IIe4) show more finely retouched edges. This trend may be related to the improved access to high quality flint as a more open environment developed, when the climate became colder and dryer following the interglacial. Only after a more exhaustive analysis of all the lithic ma€ningen will it be possible to address this question in terial from Scho more detail. 6. Results The main observations that we have made on the assemblages € ningen can be sumfrom the recent phase of excavation at Scho marized as follows: 1) Well over 90% of the raw materials used by hominins are of Senonian flint of excellent quality. € ningen collected and knapped fist-sized 2) Hominins in Scho flint nodules as well as naturally occurring thermal spalls. 3) Levallois technology is lacking among the debitage and rare cores. 4) Hominins used short reduction sequences to produce flakes. This is evident on the dorsal surfaces of the flakes and retouched forms. 5) Flakes are mostly broad and unstandardized. 6) Retouched tools are frequently made on angular debris and thermal shards, as well as flakes. These blanks are often thicker, but some thin flakes have also been used and retouched. 7) Hominins often thinned the dorsal and/or ventral surfaces of thick blanks. 8) In the Spear Horizon, some of the retouched artifacts show similar forms. A degree of standardization can be seen on the edges of the abandoned, retouched tools. This signature is a consequence of repeated retouching and re-sharpening. 9) The tool spectrum is dominated by scrapers, points, and notched or denticulated pieces. 10) The notches are made with only one or possibly a few direct blows. 11) Despite the absence of tools made on flakes from prepared cores, many of the scrapers are carefully made and call to mind tools from the Middle Paleolithic. 12) The retouch from the scrapers is mostly abrupt, stepped, or scalar, but some thin flakes and chips also show the repeated use of flat retouch. 13) Flakes and chips with diffuse bulbs and lips on the ventral surface demonstrate the repeated application of the soft hammer percussion technique, in addition to the more common hard hammer percussion. 14) Only a few pieces have been worked bifacially, and handaxes €ningen. are entirely lacking in the assemblages from Scho 15) The absence of classical cores and clear production debris such as cortical flakes, as well as the low numbers of stone
Please cite this article in press as: Serangeli, J., Conard, N.J., The behavioral and cultural stratigraphic contexts of the lithic assemblages from € ningen, Journal of Human Evolution (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.07.004 Scho
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€ ningen 13 IIe4: 1) Scraper on flake, ventral thinned (ID 25975); 2) Point on a shard; 3) Flake with dorsal and ventral retouch; 4e6) Scrapers on flakes; 7) Natural Figure 3. Scho shard with evidences of frost (ID 26022); 8) Scraper on massive flake, proximal dorsal thinned; 9e20) Flakes and chips with evident lip and diffuse bulb (9:ID 25577 and 25566; 10:ID 4666; 11:ID 25572; 12:ID 25373; 13:ID 25488; 14:ID 25364; 15:ID 25372; 16:ID 25365; 17:ID 25568; 18:ID 26220; 19:ID 26317; 20:ID 5122). Drawings 1, 7, 9e20: S. Boos; Drawings 2e6 and 8: B. Kaletsch (Thieme, 1999).
tools compared with the high number of small flakes, chips, and debris created by retouching, is due to the fact that the site represents the end of the use cycle, and the hominins, therefore, rarely generated long reduction sequences. This is further emphasized by the use of natural spalls and thermally broken chunks of flint as blanks for tools. 16) Several artifacts show thermal damage after they were abandoned. In some cases these spalls cut across and damage
carefully retouched edges. This class of finds and the spalls originating from them may help us reconstruct the site for€ningen. mation processes at Scho €ningen 17) While temporal trends are difficult to identify in Scho and all the finds date to the Reinsdorf interglacial (MIS 9 ca. 320,000e300,000 years ago), the tools from the upper part of the sequence (Fig. 4) often document the use of finer retouch and soft hammer percussion. The latter observation
Please cite this article in press as: Serangeli, J., Conard, N.J., The behavioral and cultural stratigraphic contexts of the lithic assemblages from € ningen, Journal of Human Evolution (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.07.004 Scho
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€ ningen 12 II: 1 and 5) Denticulated pieces on shards; 3) Flakes with retouch from use (ID 13632); 4) Pointed scraper on flake; 6) Flake with partial bifacial processing; Figure 4. Scho 7) Miniature bifaces with three-edged tip; 8 and 9) shards with notches (ID 13742 and ID 13725); 10) Flake core with evidences of secondary use maybe to hack (ID 13767); 2, 11, and €ningen 12 IIe1; 4 and 14 from 13) Flakes (ID 13701, ID 16520, and ID 18613); 12) Flake produced by retouching (ID 15920); 14) Retouched “core” tool (ID 18632). 1e3, 5e13 from Scho €ningen 12 IIe2. Drawings 1e10: B. Kaletsch (Thieme, 1996, 1999); Drawings 11e14: S. Boos. Scho
may reflect a different access to raw materials present in the more open environment of a climatically colder and drier context during the late interglacial phase, as opposed to a forested environment with dense vegetation in a warmer and more humid phase of the interglacial.
€ ningen in a regional context 7. Scho After reviewing the main characteristics of the lithic assem€ningen, we can now place them within a broader blages from Scho
context of sites from the Middle Pleistocene of central Europe. Here we do not discuss the many small assemblages of poorly stratified and poorly documented sites, but only some of the more important points of reference. The lithic assemblage from Bilzingsleben (District Artern, € ningen. The Thuringia) has many similarities with those from Scho € ningen, sites occupy similar lakeside settings; however, unlike Scho Bilzingsleben was adjacent to a travertine marsh. Mania and Thieme (2007) argue that Bilzingsleben II, the main concentration € ningen IIe1. at the site, dates to the same climatic phase as Scho Musil (2007) concludes on the basis of studies of the horses
Please cite this article in press as: Serangeli, J., Conard, N.J., The behavioral and cultural stratigraphic contexts of the lithic assemblages from € ningen, Journal of Human Evolution (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.07.004 Scho
J. Serangeli, N.J. Conard / Journal of Human Evolution xxx (2015) 1e11
€ningen and Bilzingsleben that these recovered from the sites in Scho sites are indeed of about the same age, with Bilzingsleben II slightly €ningen II. van Kolfschoten's (2012) study of the predating Scho microfauna from both sites confirms that the sites are of similar age. Based upon the numerous, published lithic artifacts from Bil€ningen, the following points can be zingsleben and those from Scho noted. Baltic (Nordic) flint is the dominant raw material at both sites (Pasda, 2012). Hominins at both sites frequently used naturally broken flint including thermal spalls as blanks for retouched artifacts (Steguweit, 2003). While Mania reported sporadic use of the Levallois method at Bilzingsleben (Mania and Mania, 1999), Steguweit (2003), who also studied this material, found no evidence of this. Valoch (2000) also writes that Levallois products are lacking. The lithic artifacts from Bilzingsleben are often small in size. Angular debris accounts for more than 19% of the assemblage € ningen, scrapers, points, (Valoch, 2000). As is the case at Scho notched pieces, and denticulates dominate the retouched forms in Bilzingsleben. Drills are also relatively well documented at Bilzingsleben, and some artifacts have been interpreted as knives or even as a Keilmesser (backed bifacial knives). Bilzingsleben also lacks handaxes, although here a bifacially retouched bone tool warrants mention (Mania, 1995). The lithic assemblages at € ningen and Bilzingsleben document similar technology and a Scho similar spectrum of retouched forms. € ningen is the Hundisburg The nearest site comparable to Scho € rde, Saxon-Anhalt). The raw material used gravel pit (District Bo here is exclusively locally occurring Baltic flint from the gravels of the Elbe. During research, spread over more than a century, excavators and collectors have recovered several hundred artifacts (Wiegers, 1907; Ertmer, 2011, 2012). The excavated artifacts usually came from a gravel horizon that is interspersed with numerous layers of fine sand rich in remains of clams and snails. The geological age of this layer has long been controversial. According to recent studies including excavations in the years 2005, 2006, and 2009 of the archaeological layers at Hundisburg, the lithic assemblages originate from the early Saalian (Ertmer, 2011, 2012). Thus, the artifacts from Hundisburg are slightly younger than those of € ningen. Levallois-prepared core technology, two bifacial artiScho facts, a Keilmesser, and some scrapers led Ertmer to place the finds within the Middle Paleolithic. The artifacts show a high proportion of faceted striking platforms. If one compares the assemblages from € ningen and Hundisburg, the latter seems to represent a more Scho recent phase of the Paleolithic, an interpretation consistent with the geological and chronological setting of the site. The Middle Pleistocene site Bad Cannstatt near Stuttgart, and particularly the “Bunker” site, can be mentioned in this context. Here Wagner (1995) recovered many choppers made mostly of limestone (Jurakalk and Muschelkalk), several micro-choppers and some scrapers with cortex made from local flint, and a single Levallois flake, but no handaxes. They appear, as is the case in € ningen, to be made quickly to meet the immediate needs of the Scho hominins who used the locality (Wagner, 1995). Due to the difference in raw materials and the presence of chipped river cobbles, the stone artifacts from Bad Cannstatt look much coarser than those in € ningen. Scho The well-known site of Markkleeberg in the Pleiße drainage, a tributary of the Elster in Saxony, was discovered in 1895 and was for many years the center of scientific discussion on the Lower and €fer et al., 2004). The Middle Paleolithic in eastern Germany (Scha site is stratigraphically placed at the beginning of the Saalian and local Baltic flint is the dominant raw material. The lithic artifacts clearly document the presence of Levallois technology and the site played a central role in Bosinski's redefinition of the Middle Paleolithic to include assemblages from the early Saalian (Bosinski,
9
1967; Sch€ afer et al., 2004). A comparison between the lithic as€ningen shows that the semblages from Markkleeberg with Scho former has a higher number of flakes, Levallois flakes, and Levallois cores, whereas angular debris and the use of thermal spalls is more € ningen. At this stage in our study of the lithic ascommon at Scho €ningen we prefer not to indulge in comparisons semblages in Scho with similar but more distant sites. Many of the parameters such as the availability and quality of raw materials, age, as well as climate and environmental contexts change considerably and hinder comparisons on a continental scale. 8. Discussion and conclusion Although this is not the time or place to present a general discussion about the definition of the Lower and Middle Paleolithic, a few remarks are certainly warranted in connection with the as€ ningen. The lithic artifacts from Scho €ningen semblages from Scho come from multiple find horizons, with only the main archaeological horizon, the Spear Horizon, providing more than a few dozen artifacts. Nonetheless, based on our excavations since 2008 and the sparse information available in the publications on Thieme's excavations, the assemblages appear to reflect a consistent technological signature and can likely be treated as belonging to the same general technocomplex of the Reinsdorf interglacial. This is the case even though the upper stratigraphic horizons contain a more diverse range of finer artifacts with carefully retouched edges. These assemblages date to approximately 300,000 years ago and fall on cusp between the Lower and Middle €ningen Paleolithic. While Thieme (2003, 2007) always placed Scho in the Lower Paleolithic, other scholars suggest, based on chronostratigraphic and typological grounds, that the assemblages € ris and Baales, show characteristics of the Middle Paleolithic (Jo 2003). While we acknowledge that this question is not of central importance for the interpretation of the archaeological sites at €ningen and some researchers such as Müller-Beck (1956) Scho reject the distinction between the Lower and Middle Paleolithic altogether, we favor placing the assemblages within the late Lower € ningen localities is not Paleolithic. The lack of handaxes at the Scho critical in this context because Acheulean assemblages are nearly non-existent in the German and central European Lower Paleolithic (Conard et al., 2011; Rocca, 2013). Contrary to the expectations from Western Europe, handaxes of the Jungacheul een of central Europe are the hallmark of Middle Paleolithic assemblages and are typically accompanied by well-developed Levallois technology, as has long been argued by Bosinski (1967, 2009) and other researchers (Conard and Fischer, 2000). Following Bosinski, we favor using the presence of Levallois technology as the primary criteria for identifying the start of the Middle Paleolithic within the third-to-last glacial of MIS 8. This, however, should not be taken to assume that all Middle Paleolithic assemblages in Germany contain Levallois technology, because this is not the case. Given the chronostratigraphic placement of the €ningen in MIS 9 and the complete lack of assemblages from Scho Levallois technology, we argue for maintaining Thieme's interpretation that attributes the assemblages to the late Lower Paleolithic, despite the presence of a relatively high abundance of scrapers, notches, and denticulates that bear some resemblance to the typical retouched forms of the Middle Paleolithic. The most salient aspect of our current state of knowledge on the lithic artifacts is the very small size of the assemblages from the €ningen. Here we have presented the artifacts many localities at Scho from our ongoing excavations together with those drawn from the published record of Thieme's excavations. Clearly, a more defined assessment will only be possible when the lithic artifacts recovered
Please cite this article in press as: Serangeli, J., Conard, N.J., The behavioral and cultural stratigraphic contexts of the lithic assemblages from € ningen, Journal of Human Evolution (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.07.004 Scho
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from the excavations between 1992 and 2007 have been studied and published in more detail. € ningen is not a single Finally, we wish to emphasize that Scho site, but rather an archaeological landscape from the Reinsdorf Interglacial. Some of the 24 archaeological assemblages were excavated quickly in rescue operations without waterscreening, while other localities have been excavated slowly and carefully with waterscreening. Some of the localities (see Serangeli et al., 2015) have no lithic artifacts at all, and others have comparatively large numbers of artifacts. Nonetheless, even the richest locality, the Spear Horizon, represents a site with a low density of lithic artifacts. Without the remarkable faunal and botanical finds and the exceptional preservation of the sites due to their being preserved underwater until recently, the lithic assemblages would probably never have attracted the attention of archaeologists and the various surfaces would never have been excavated. Within every locality, the find density lies well below one artifact per square meter. This is the case even when all the small and microdebitage from waterscreening is considered. €ningen provides us with a signature of diverse activities Scho ranging from butchering to wood and hide working, as well as the re-sharpening and maintenance of flint tools (Rots et al., 2015). Nowhere have long sequences of primary reduction been documented, instead we are looking typically at distal phases of the procurement, production, use, modification, and discard cycles. As progress is made on studying the different classes of finds and their € ningen will spatial and chronological contexts, the localities in Scho join those from Boxgrove (Roberts and Parfitt, 1999) as the only well-preserved archeological landscapes from the Lower Paleolithic that have been examined over large-scale excavations. Given its €ningen exceptional preservation, the landscape archaeology in Scho during the Reinsdorf Interglacial will serve as a valuable reference documenting a high-resolution record of hominin activities about 300,000 years ago. As work on this class of finds progresses, the lithic assemblages will increasingly be integrated into the narrative of how hominins from the Middle Pleistocene of central Europe used the landscape and organized their social and economic behavior. Acknowledgments €chsisches LandThe authors would like to thank the Niedersa esamt für Denkmalpflege (NLD, Lower Saxony State Service for Cultural Heritage) for close and always positive cooperation, and the Lower Saxony State Ministry of Science and Culture (MWK) for € ningen.” In the years 2010 the generous funding of the “Project Scho to the end of 2013 the excavation was co-financed by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation), Project CO 226/22-1. Furthermore, we would like to express our €hner, K. Felix Hillgruber, Jens Lehmann, Thomas gratitude to Utz Bo Terberger (NLD, Hannover), as well as the excavation team (Wolf€ rg Neumann Giesen, Neil Haycock, Wolfgang Bergang Mertens, Jo kemer, Martin Kursch, Dennis Mennella) for their contribution to € ningen Project. the Scho References €olithischen Funde im westlichen Mitteleuropa. Bosinski, G., 1967. Die mittelpala € hlau Verlag, Ko € ln, Graz. Fundamenta A4. Bo Bosinski, G., 2009. Urgeschichte am Rhein. Tübinger Monographien zur Urgeschichte. Kernsverlag, Tübingen. Conard, N.J., Bolus, M., Chang, J., 2011. Where's the Acheulean? Bifacial Technology in Germany. Abstracts for the 2nd International Symposium of Bifaces of the Lower and Middle Pleistocene of the World, Jeongok (Korea), April 30eMay 5, 2011, pp. 88e89. Conard, N.J., Fischer, B., 2000. Are there recognizable cultural entities in the German Middle Palaeolithic? In: Ronewn, A., Weinstein-Evron, M. (Eds.), Toward
Modern Humans: Yabrudian and Micoquian, 400e50 kyears ago. Proceedings of a Congress held at the University of Haifa, November 3e9, 1996. BAR S850, 7e21. Ertmer, S., 2011. Die Parkkiesgrube HundisburgdSteinwerkzeuge des frühen Neandertalers in den Schottern der Beber. Jahresschrift der Museen des Land€ rde 51, pp. 13e38. kreises Bo €glichkeiten Ertmer, S., 2012. Fundkomplexe aus Saalezeitliche Schottern und die Mo €t Tübingen. ihrer Auswertung. Ph.D. Dissertation, Universita €gberg, A., Olausson, D., 2007. Scandinavian Flintdan Archaeological perspective. Ho Aarhus University Press, Aahrus. €hlungen von elster- und saaleHoffmann, K., Meyer, K.-D., 1997. Leitgeschiebeza €stlichen Niezeitlichen Ablagerungen aus Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt und dem o dersachsen. S. 7 Abb., 3 Tab., Leipzig, pp. 115e128. €ris, O., Baales, M., 2003. Zur Altersstellung der Scho €ninger Speere. In: Jo Burdukiewicz, J.M., Fiedler, L., Heinrich, W.D., Justus, A., Brühl, E. (Eds.), €ger: Kultur und Umwelt des frühen Menschen. Festschrift Erkenntnisja €ffentlichungen des Landesamtes für Archa €ologie für Dietrich Mania. Vero Sachsen-AnhaltdLandesmuseum für Vorgeschichte 57, Halle, pp. 281e288. €ningen: sediLang, J., Winsemann, J., 2012. The 12II DB outcrop section at Scho mentary facies and depositional architecture. In: Behre, K.-E. (Ed.), Die chro€ ningen. The nologische Einordnung der pal€ aolithischen Fundstellen von Scho € ningen. Forschungen zur chronological setting of the Palaeolithic sites of Scho € ningen 1. Verlag des Ro €misch-Germanischen Urgeschichte im Tagebau von Scho Zentralmuseums, Mainz, pp. 39e59. €hner, U., Serangeli, J., Lang, J., Winsemann, J., Steinmetz, D., Polom, U., Pollok, L., Bo €ningen, Brandes, C., Hampel, A., Winghart, S., 2012. The Pleistocene of Scho Germany: a complex tunnel valley fill revealed from 3D subsurface modelling and shear wave seismics. Quat. Sci. Rev. 39, 1e20. € hner, U., Polom, U., Serangeli, J., Winsemann, J., 2015. The Middle PleisLang, J., Bo € ningen as a Paleolithic archive. J. Hum. Evol. tocene tunnel valley at Scho Mania, D., 1995. The earliest occupation of Europe: the Elbe-Saale region (Germany). In: Roebroeks, W., van Kolfschoten, T. (Eds.), The Earliest Occupation of Europa. University of Leiden, Leiden, pp. 85e101. Mania, D., Mania, U., 1999. Zur Kultur des Homo erectus von Bilzingsleben. Praehistoria Thuringica 3, 27e63. Mania, D., Thieme, H., 2007. Zur Einordnung der altpal€ aolithischen Fundhorizonte € ningen in die Erdgeschichte. In: Thieme, H. (Ed.), Die Scho €ninger von Scho SpeeredMensch und Jagd vor 400.000 Jahren. Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart, pp. 117e120. €olithikum in Süddeutschland. Ein Versuch Müller-Beck, H., 1956. Das Obere Altpala €ltesten Geschichte des Menschen. Part 1 (text). Hamburg, Hamburger zur a Buchdruckerei und Verlagsanstalt Auerdruck GmbH. € ningen: Skelettreste einer ganzen WildMusil, R., 2007. Die Pferde von Scho pferdherde. Ein Befund von Weltbedeutung: Ein Wildpferd-Jagdlager vor € ninger SpeeredMensch und 400.000 Jahren. In: Thieme, H. (Ed.), 2007. Die Scho Jagd vor 400.000 Jahren. Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart, pp. 136e140. €r 59, 7e46. Pasda, C., 2012. A study of rocks and flints from Bilzingsleben. Quarta Roberts, M.B., Parfitt, S.A., 1999: Boxgrove. a Middle Pleistocene hominid site at Eartham Quarry, Boxgrove, West Sussex. English Heritage Archaeological Report 17, London. finir des aires culturelles au Pale olithique infe rieur? Rocca, R., 2013. Peut-on de des premie res industries lithiques en Europe centrale dans le cadre Originalite Paris Ouest Nanterre du peuplement de l'Europe. Ph.D. Disseration, Universite fense. la de Rots, V., Hardy, B.L., Serangeli, J., Conard, N.J., 2015. Residue and microwear analyses € ningen. J. Hum. Evol. of the stone artefacts from Scho €ologische UntersuSch€ afer, J., Laurat, T., Kegler, J., Miersch, E., 2004. Neue archa chungen in Markkleeberg, Tagebau Espenhain (Lkr. Leipziger Land). Praehistoria Thuringica 10, 141e170. Serangeli, J., van Kolfschoten, T., Starkovich, B.M., Verheijen, I., 2015. The European Saber-toothed cat (Homotherium latidens) found in the Spear Horizon at € ningen (Germany). J. Hum. Evol. Scho Steguweit, L., 2003. Gebrauchsspuren an Artefakten der Hominidenfundstelle Bilzingsleben (Thüringen). Tübinger Arbeiten zur Urgeschichte 2. Verlag MarieLeidorf, Rahden/Westfalen. Thieme, H., 1996. Situation der Bodendenkmalpflege im Braunkohlentagebau € ningen, Landkreis Helmstedt. Altpala €olithische Fundpla €tze mit JagdbeuScho €ten. In: Koschik, H. (Ed.), Arch€ teresten und Holzgera aologie in den Braunkohlenrevieren Mitteleuropas. Materialien zur Bodendenkmalpflege im Rheinland € ln, pp. 133e145. 6, Ko €olithische Holzger€ €ningen, Lkr. Helmstedt. Thieme, H., 1999. Altpala ate aus Scho Bedeutsame Funde zur Kulturentwicklung des frühen Menschen. Germania 77, 451e487. €ningen, Lower Saxony, GerThieme, H., 2003. The Lower Palaeolithic sites at Scho many. In: Burdukiewizc, J.M., Ronen, A. (Eds.), Lower Paleolithic Small Tolls in Europe and the Levant. Archaeopress, Oxford, pp. 9e27. British Archaeological Report International Series 1115. €ninger SpeeredMensch und Jagd vor 400.000 Thieme, H. (Ed.), 2007. Die Scho Jahren. Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart. €ologische Ausgrabungen im Braunkohlentagebau Thieme, H., Maier, R., 1995. Archa € ningen, Landkreis Helmstedt. Verlag Hahnsche Buchhandlung, Hannover. Scho €ne Schichtfolge im Tagebau Scho € ningen, Baufeld Tschee, W., 1991. Die pleistoza Esbeck der Braunschweigischen Kohlen-Bergwerke AG. Diploma Thesis, Universit€ at Hannover.
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J. Serangeli, N.J. Conard / Journal of Human Evolution xxx (2015) 1e11 Urban, B., 1995. Palynological evidence of younger Middle Pleistocene interglacials € ningen) in the Scho €ningen open cast lignite (Holsteinian, Reinsdorf and Scho mine (eastern Lower Saxony, Germany). Mededelingen Rijks Geologische Dienst 52, pp. 175e186. Urban, B., Bigga, G., 2015. Environmental reconstruction and biostratigraphy of €ningen. J. Hum. Evol. Upper Middle Pleistocene lakeshore deposits at Scho €olithischer kleinger€ Valoch, K., 2000. Zur Typologie alt- und mittelpala atiger Industrien. Praehistoria Thuringica 5, 47e67. €ningen mammalian fauna in biostratigraphical van Kolfschoten, T., 2012. The Scho perspective. In: Behre, K.-E. (Ed.), Die chronologische Einordnung der €olithischen Fundstellen von Scho € ningen. The chronological setting of the pala € ningen. Forschungen zur Urgeschichte im Tagebau von Palaeolithic sites of Scho €ningen 1. Verlag des Ro €misch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums, Mainz, Scho pp. 113e124.
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van Kolfschoten, T., Parfitt, S., Serangeli, J., Bello, S.M., 2015. Lower Palaeolithic bone €ningen (Germany). J. Hum. Evol. tools from the “Spear Horizon” at Scho €ningen 13II-4, a killVoormolen, B., 2008. Ancient hunters, modern butchers. Scho butchery site dating from the northwest European Lower Paleolithic. J. Taphonomy 6 (2), 71e247. €ger im Travertingebiet. Theiss Verlag, Wagner, E., 1995. Cannstatt I. Großwildja Stuttgart. Weber, T., 2004. Die € altesten Spuren des Menschen in Sachsen-Anhalt. In: Meller, H. €olithikum und Mesolithikum. Kataloge der Dauerausstellung im (Ed.), Pala Landesmuseums in für Vorgeschichte 1. Halle/Saale, pp. 61e67. €olithischer Artefakte. I. Aus dem Diluvium Wiegers, F., 1907. Neue Funde pala Thüringens und Sachsens. Zeitschrift für Ethnologie 39, 718e729.
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The behavioral and cultural stratigraphic contexts of the lithic € ningen assemblages from Scho Jordi Serangeli a, *, Nicholas J. Conard a, b a b
€t Tübingen, Burgsteige 11, 72070 Tübingen, Germany Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte, Eberhard Karls Universita Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Paleoecology, Burgsteige 11, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
a r t i c l e i n f o
a b s t r a c t
Article history: Received 16 December 2013 Accepted 12 July 2015 Available online xxx
€ningen, the presence of hominins is repeatedly Within the various archaeological horizons in Scho demonstrated by the recovery of stone artifacts, broken bones, and bones with cut marks. The Spear Horizon, 13 IIe4, with its ca. 1500 stone artifacts and ca. 12,000 faunal remains, represents by far the € ningen. Systematic waterscreening over a period of 15 years has richest archaeological layers in Scho fostered the recovery of numerous small flakes that otherwise would have remained undetected. Based on the stone artifacts published by H. Thieme and the lithic artifacts recovered from the ongoing excavations of the University of Tübingen and the Archaeological Heritage Office of Lower Saxony since 2008, we present here the main aspects of these lithic assemblages. The main features of the lithic assemblages recovered from the different find horizons and concentrations provide a consistent signature, suggesting a robust and repetitive technological strategy. The assemblages, which are made of local, high quality flint, lack handaxes and are clearly not related to the Acheulean. Intensely retouched scrapers, as well as denticulates, notched pieces, and points on thick flakes, angular debris, and non-anthropogenic thermal spalls are the most numerous retouched forms. The assemblages also contain a smaller number of thinner forms. Reduction sequences are short and Levallois technology is absent. Although some of the retouched forms are reminiscent of the Middle Paleolithic, the relatively non-standardized short reduction sequences technically oriented toward the production of thick and broad flakes are consistent with a classification in the late Lower Paleolithic. © 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Keywords: Middle Pleistocene Lower Paleolithic Lithic technology Germany Central Europe
1. Introduction The Lower Paleolithic archaeological horizons and artifact scat€ ningen (Fig. 1) ters from the Reinsdorf Interglacial of MIS 9 in Scho have become world famous due to the recovery of many beautifully preserved wooden artifacts. The great emphasis placed on the wooden spears and other wooden artifacts has led to the neglect of € ningen. Until now only a handful of the lithic assemblages from Scho the more than 1500 lithic artifacts recovered during Hartmut Thieme's excavations between 1992 and 2007 have been published. This paper represents the first attempt to summarize the overall € ningen. Based upon the characteristics of the lithic industry in Scho 17 stone artifacts published by H. Thieme and D. Mania featured in different publications (Mania, 1995; Thieme and Maier, 1995; Thieme, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2007), combined with the 133 stone
* Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (J. Serangeli).
artifacts recovered from the ongoing excavations of the University of Tübingen and the archaeological heritage office of Lower Saxony (2008 to present day), we can provide a preliminary but representative review of the main features of the assemblages (Table 1). The available data indicates that the different concentrations and isolated finds belong to the same technological system, and because the lithic finds were recovered from near the shore of a paleolake, they likely reflect similar activities and economic strategies. 2. The raw material € ningen was completely During the Elsterian, the region of Scho covered by a glacier. The analysis of the glacial drift demonstrates a Scandinavian or west-Baltic origin for the materials transported by €ningen (Tschee, 1991; the Elsterian glaciers in and around Scho Hoffmann and Meyer, 1997). The erosional processes, including high pressure melt water occurring below the Elsterian ice sheet, produced a tunnel valley at the foot of the Elm ridge that overlooks €ningen (Lang and Winsemann, 2012; Lang et al., 2012, 2015). Scho
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€ ningen. The shaded areas highlight the western lakeshore area of the Middle Pleistocene Figure 1. Map of the excavated areas with Pleistocene layers in the open cast mine in Scho lake in two major events indicated as I and II.
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J. Serangeli, N.J. Conard / Journal of Human Evolution xxx (2015) 1e11
3
Table 1.1 € ningen 12 II and 13 I.a Artifacts and natural stones from Scho € n 12 IIe1 (aec)b Scho Artifacts
Unmodified stones
a b
Chips (<1 cm) Small flakes (>1 cm, <2 cm) Flakes (>2 cm) Worked clasts Core and core-like artifacts Total artifacts Flint Pebble (<2 cm) Pebble (>2 cm) Total natural stones Total
€n 12 IIe2 (c) Scho
€ n 12 IIe3 (b/c) Scho
€n 12 IIe4 (c) Scho
€n 13 I Scho
Total
12
3
5
2
22
2 1 15 19
3 1 7 24
1 1 7 23
1
7 3 32 66
6 25 40
1 25 32
1 1 1
3
8 31 38
3
16 82 114
All these layers have been excavated very quickly with spade and shovel in so-called rescue excavations. € ningen 12 B, FS 1. Including six stone tools from the site Scho
Table 1.2 €ningen 12 II and 13 I. Retouched artifacts or artifacts with evidence of use (see Rots et al., 2015) from Scho € n 12 IIe1 (aec)a Scho Tools
a
Only evidence of use-wear Denticulated pieces Notched pieces Scraper Retouched flake Hammerstone Total tools
€ n 12 IIe2 (c) Scho
€ n 12 IIe3 (b/c) Scho
€ n 12 IIe4 (c) Scho
3 2
€n 13 I Scho
3 1 2
1 1 1 8
4
4
5
1
Total 6 3 2 5 1 1 18
€ ningen 12 B, FS 1. Including six stone tools from the site Scho
Table 1.3 € ningen 13 II.a Artifacts and unmodified stones from Scho
Artifacts
Unmodified stones
€n 13 IIe1 Scho (aec)
€n 13 IIe2 Scho (bec)b
1 1
1 3 1
Chips (<1 cm) Small flakes (>1 cm, <2 cm) Flakes (>2 cm) Worked clasts Core like artifacts, Dev. quar. Total artifacts Flint Pebble (<2 cm) Pebble (>2 cm) Total natural stones Total
2 6
€ n 13 IIe3 Scho (b/c) 1 1 1
5 12 4
2 8 10
3
16 21
3
€ n 13 IIe4 (aec) Scho Speersockel
€n 13 IIe4 (aec) Scho Obere Berme
Total
17 17 6 2 1 43 3
34 24 3 4
52 46 12 7 1 118 25 6 4 35 153
3 46
65 4 2 2 8 73
a € n 13 II e 1, 13 II e 2 and 13 II e 3 were excavated mainly with spade and shovel, the layers from Scho € n 13 II e 4 have been very carefully excavated and The layers from Scho since 2008 the archaeologically relevant sediments have been continuously water screened using a sieve with a two millimeter mesh. b € ningen 13 II-2c is rich in sand and natural stones and chips. The square meter X 677/Y 17, layer Scho € ningen 13 II-2c, has been water screened using a sieve The layer Scho with a 2 mm mesh to a sediment depth of 20 cm. The result (ID 25174) was ca. 800 stones smaller than 2 cm without any man-made modifications and nearly 40 probably nonanthropogenic chips.
Table 1.4 €ningen 13 II. Retouched artifacts or artifacts with evidence of use (see Rots et al., 2015) from Scho €n 13 IIe1 (aec) Scho Tools
€n 13 IIe2 (bec) Scho
Only evidences of use-wear Denticulated pieces Notched pieces Scraper Points Retouched flake Hammerstone Total tools
Within this depression the retreat of the Elsterian glacier from the northern edges of the Harz Mountains left behind till, meltwater sediments, and glaciolacustrine deposits. A lake that developed above these deposits was repeatedly visited by hominins. The thick
€ n 13 IIe3 (b/c) Scho
€n 13 IIe4 (aec) Scho Speersockel
€n 13 IIe4 (aec) Scho Obere Berme
Total
1
5 1
1 1
7 2 1
6
2
10
1 2
interglacial sediments corresponding to the locally defined Reinsdorf Interglacial (Urban, 1995; Urban and Bigga, 2015) gradually filled the lake, preserving a high resolution record of environmental change and hominin settlement dynamics. The subsequent cooling
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of the Drenthe stage of the Saalian (MIS 8) once again led to the spread of a massive glacier covering the area of the current lignite €ningen. Nearly everywhere, the Middle Pleistocene mine in Scho sediments were eroded by the glacier. Only in the subglacial depression, left behind by the retreating Elsterian glacier, were sediments preserved. To understand the accessibility of flint as a raw material during the Reinsdorf Interglacial, we need to consider the content and potential exposures of the flint-bearing Elsterian deposits. € ningen, numerous pebbles and nodules of flint together In Scho with rare, larger flint nodules weighing more than 10 kg are found in the Elsterian till. At present this till is exposed in the lignite mine and reaches a maximum thickness of 15 m. Numerous natural flint pebbles, nodules, and debris with evidence of thermal damage also occur in the Elsterian deposits following the first lacustrine silty sequence. This was documented under the interglacial lake de€ningen 12 II, Plateau 6, and under the archaeological posits of Scho € ningen 13 IIe1. Thieme (2007) describes the preslayers of Scho ence of coarse sand, gravel, large cobbles, and thermal spalls of € ningen 13 I. flint in the main archaeological horizon of Scho Through the current excavation in the same archaeological layers € ningen 13 I, we have been able to corroborate this stateof Scho ment. The natural flint from all these layers is the same as that used for the manufacture of the stone artifacts in the archaeological layers and consists of west-Baltic and Scandinavian flint of mostly excellent quality. The flint is glassy, homogeneous, and is often of a dark gray or black color. Some pieces have a lighter brown color, and occasionally banded flint is present in the natural deposits as well as in the artifact assemblages. In particular, the site €ningen 12 IIe1 (previously published as Scho €ningen 12 B, of Scho FS 1) yielded artifacts of a brown flint. Even today, the edges of the artifacts are very sharp. The rolled cortex is smooth and very thin. The cortex is always less than 1 mm thick, and it contrasts sharply with the silicate core. These observations allow us to identify more € ningen as than 90% of the used and retouched artifacts from Scho €gberg and Olausson, 2007: high quality Senonian Flint (see Ho 88e91). The artifacts never have pronounced patinas, and in most cases, patinas are completely absent. Some dark flints of particularly good € ningen 13 IIe4) and quality recovered from the Spear Horizon (Scho €ningen 12 IIe4 show a dark to from the archaeological layers Scho black patina with silver “greasy” luster, sometimes referred to as €gberg and freshwater patina (Harm Paulsen, pers. comm.; Ho Olausson, 2007: 69; Fig. 2.1). This dark patina resembles the color of the bones and teeth recovered in the corresponding find layers and is typical for finds submerged in fresh water or saturated sediments over a long period (Thieme, 2007). Many of the stone artifacts from Germany that date to the Middle Pleistocene originate from gravel pits and strip mines, such € rde, Saxon-Anhalt), Wallendorf (District as Hundisburg (District Bo Saalekreis, Saxon-Anhalt), and Markkleeberg (District of Leipzig, Saxony). Weber (2004) has argued that it seems as if the extensive outcrops of loose gravel and sand layers found along the banks of rivers and lake shores attracted hominins. This is understandable when one considers that the landscape, particularly during warm, humid periods, would normally be covered by dense vegetation, making these exposed deposits rich in flint particularly important. Flint was only easily accessible in certain places where the rivers had deposited thick gravels or where erosion laid bare older hori€ ningen are all situated within the shore zone zons. The sites in Scho of a paleolake, where several streams flowing down from the Elm likely exposed flint-bearing gravels, providing good access to knappable flint. Only one artifact (ID 25182) with few negative scars from the Spear Horizon could be identified as Devonian quartzite.
€ ningen 3. The lithic assemblage from Scho In at least 24 of the more than 30 find horizons, excavators have recovered flint artifacts. The largest assemblage, with approximately 1500 (Thieme, 2007) stone artifacts, originates from €ningen 13 IIe4, the so called “Spear Horizon” that also conScho tained the remains of more than 40 horses, many of which have been intensely butchered, and 9 spears (Thieme, 2007; Voormolen, 2008). Nearly 90% of the stone artifacts from the main find horizon are small flakes, chips, and debris created by retouching (Thieme, 2007). The overall number of the larger retouched pieces does not exceed a few dozen artifacts (Fig. 2). €ningen 12 IIe1 (which is the Other important sites are Scho €ningen 12 B, FS 1), Scho €ningen 12 IIe2 (which continuation of Scho €ningen 12 B, FS 2), and Scho € ningen 13 I is the continuation of Scho (for more details see Serangeli et al., 2015). Since 2011, we have excavated an area that is a continuation of the Spear Horizon on the “Obere Berme” (Upper Berm), which we call “Spear Horizon south.” Here the crew has recovered numerous faunal remains and occasional flint artifacts. Some areas of the Spear Horizon south have documented more than 45 finds per square meter. So far only 100 m2 of this archaeological horizon has been excavated, and the geological setting indicates that several hundred square meters of the find horizon still await excavation. All the other horizons have yielded a low number of stone artifacts, ranging between one and several. Some fossil-bearing horizons, for example horizon 13 DB, did not yield any stone artifacts or evidence of human presence, but are nonetheless still important in understanding the evolution of the ecosystem and climate €ningen landscape. within the Scho The low number of artifacts in the small assemblages, except in €ningen 13 IIe4, precludes a statistical analysis of the flint arScho tifacts from the other accumulations (Table 1). Furthermore, the different modalities used in the excavations, for example rescue excavation as opposed to research excavation in some endangered areas, have produced differences, particularly in the small assemblages, and this makes a comparison between the various collections complex. These difficulties may help explain why only 17 of the most characteristic artifacts have been published by Thieme (Thieme and Maier, 1995). Because all the sites dealt with here are dated within the short period of the Reinsdorf Interglacial (MIS 9), and the sediments are not reworked older sediments, we are able to analyze the various small collections as a well-defined chrono-cultural unit. Based on our observations from multiple find horizons and from Thieme's publica€ ningen provide a consistent picture tions, the lithics from Scho suggesting that the technology and typology of the different find horizons fit within a single industry of the late Middle Pleistocene. Thermal flint spalls are present in all the archaeological layers, € ningen used these natural frost and the hominins occupying Scho spalls as blanks for making tools. Since these spalls are often much larger than the naturally occurring clasts within the matrix of the fine grained archaeological horizons, we suggest that hominins deliberately collected these examples of frost debris for immediate use or as raw material for a later reduction (Fig. 3.7). These natural blanks appear with such regularity that their collection by hominins can only reflect a systematic technological and economic strategy in €ningen. In some cases, hominins may have knapped larger Scho pieces of flint with natural frost-fissures outside the confines of the archaeological site, and the flints obtained in our ongoing and in Thieme's areas of excavation preserve evidence of both natural and human processes. In both cases, the selection of adequate natural products to use as blanks plays a central role in the reduction sequences, which mainly took place outside of the excavated archae€ningen. For some of the medial fragments of ological sites in Scho
Please cite this article in press as: Serangeli, J., Conard, N.J., The behavioral and cultural stratigraphic contexts of the lithic assemblages from € ningen, Journal of Human Evolution (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.07.004 Scho
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€ningen 12 II: 1) Knife-like scraper with evidence of frost damage (ID 17961); 2) Scraper on flake, proximal ventral thinned (ID 18064); 3) Scraper on flake with notch Figure 2. Scho on the distal end, proximal ventral thinned (ID 18631); 4) Flake with retouch from use (ID 17444); 5) Massive flake with ventral retouch (17922); 6) Massive flake with retouch (ID € ningen 12 IIe2; 2 from 17981); 7) Notched core tool with evidences of use (ID 18628); 8) Flake with lateral retouch and secondary frost damage (ID 18606). 1, 6, and 8 from Scho €ningen 12 IIe1; 3, 4, 5, and 7 from Scho €ningen 12e4. Photos: C.S. Fuchs; Drawings: S. Boos. Scho
flint, it is difficult if not impossible to distinguish if they are medial parts of natural frost-shards or if they are medial parts of flakes produced by hominins. Thieme (2007) has commented that the presence of thermally broken flint has hindered the analysis of the artifact assemblages from his excavations. This situation is further complicated by the observation that some of the artifacts suffered thermal damage after they were knapped. We hope in the future to be able to refit thermal spalls in some of these cases to the artifacts
from which they originate to improve our understanding of the €ningen (e.g., Fig. 2.8). taphonomy of the find horizons in Scho 4. Technology €ningen reflects flake The core reduction technology at Scho production via hard hammer percussion. The reduction sequences are short, and the flakes show few dorsal negatives. This suggests
Please cite this article in press as: Serangeli, J., Conard, N.J., The behavioral and cultural stratigraphic contexts of the lithic assemblages from € ningen, Journal of Human Evolution (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.07.004 Scho
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the opportunistic use of selected, natural thermal spalls as blanks. Levallois technology is entirely lacking, helping to place the assemblages in the late Lower Paleolithic rather than in the early Middle Paleolithic (Bosinski, 1967; Conard and Fischer, 2000). The flakes are not of standardized form, and diverse blanks have been used and modified. Large flakes, thin flakes, large natural flint spalls, cores, and pebbles are present in the assemblages. Several thin flakes and chips with diffuse bulbs and lips on the ventral surface demonstrate the repeated application of soft hammer percussion (Fig. 3.9e3.20), as well as the more typical direct hard hammer percussion. This observation is supported by the presence of several dozen examples of faunal hammers and retouchers from the Spear Horizon that were used for chipping flint (Voormolen, 2008; van Kolfschoten et al., 2015). € ningen flint blanks have been made with little if any In Scho preparation. The flakes are mostly broad, with prominent bulbs, large unprepared striking platforms, fissures, and multiple cones of percussion documenting the production of flakes using a hard hammerstone (Fig. 2.4e2.5). In some cases completely natural flints and thermal spalls were used as blanks for tools. While most tools preserve heavy retouch, flakes occasionally carry fine retouch from use, indicating that flakes and spalls with un-retouched edges have also been used (Fig. 2.4; Rots et al., 2015). €ningen reflects an In summary, the flint technology used in Scho opportunistic pattern of simple hard hammer percussion in short reduction sequences combined with the use of natural spalls and thermally broken chunks of flint as blanks for tools. Classical cores are absent in our assemblages; perhaps three artifacts have a “corelike” character, but they show only one or two negative scars from the removal of flakes (Fig. 2.7 and 4.14). In the assemblages from Thieme's excavations, cores are only rarely present (Fig. 4.10). Cortical flakes are also rare; this may in part reflect the use of natural thermal flakes as blanks for tools. Furthermore, the assemblage from the Spear Horizon mainly represents distal products from the short reduction sequences rather than documenting continuous sequences of production (Fig. 3). Thus, a relatively high proportion of the artifacts and especially the retouch finds appear to have been brought to the site in finished form. This being said, the presence of small debris from retouching the edges of artifacts indicates that the finds were often modified and re-sharpened after they were brought into the area of excavation (Thieme, 2007). 5. Typology of retouched tools €ningen is domiThe spectrum of the retouched flint tools in Scho nated by scrapers, points, and notched or denticulated pieces (Figs. 2e4; Thieme, 2007). The retouched blanks are of a very diverse nature. Various tools are made of thin flakes or thin frost shards. Some thicker blanks have been intentionally thinned on the dorsal or ventral surfaces, which may be related to hafting (Figs. 2.2e2.3, 3.1, and 3.8). Other retouched tools have been made using diverse large blanks, including flakes, frost debris, and chipped or broken flint nodules. In the Spear Horizon, some of the retouched artifacts show similar characteristics in the form and in the retouching of the edges (e.g., Fig. 3.3e3.6). We suppose that such a degree of repetitive behavior with regard to the abandoned tools may be less dependent on the form of blank used, but rather the consequence of repeated retouching. This aspect will be addressed in more detail in the future, when more artifacts are available for study. Notches represent one of the more frequent tool types and were often made with only one or perhaps a few direct blows (Figs. 2.3, 4.8e4.9). At times it is difficult to distinguish between notched tools and cores (Fig. 2.7). Many of the scrapers are very carefully made and call to mind similar pieces from the Middle Paleolithic. The small number of
scrapers from the new excavations and published finds from Thieme's excavation does not permit us to define specific classes of scrapers. At present we can only say that besides fine, narrow, and thin scrapers, there also exist larger knife-like scrapers and cutting tools (Figs. 2.1e2.3, 3.1, 3.3e3.6, and 3.8). The retouch on the scrapers is mostly abrupt, stepped, or scalar, and some of the artifacts preserve Quina and Quina-like retouch. Some very thin flakes and chips also show the repeated application of flat rather than abrupt retouch. Only a few pieces show any signs of being worked bifacially. An exception is a flake with partially bifacial knapping and an artifact with irregular bifacial retouch (Fig. 4.6e4.7). Handaxes are lacking €ningen. in all find horizons in Scho Although the assemblages are small, the retouched pieces from the later part of the Reinsdorf interglacial (13 IIe4) show more finely retouched edges. This trend may be related to the improved access to high quality flint as a more open environment developed, when the climate became colder and dryer following the interglacial. Only after a more exhaustive analysis of all the lithic ma€ningen will it be possible to address this question in terial from Scho more detail. 6. Results The main observations that we have made on the assemblages € ningen can be sumfrom the recent phase of excavation at Scho marized as follows: 1) Well over 90% of the raw materials used by hominins are of Senonian flint of excellent quality. € ningen collected and knapped fist-sized 2) Hominins in Scho flint nodules as well as naturally occurring thermal spalls. 3) Levallois technology is lacking among the debitage and rare cores. 4) Hominins used short reduction sequences to produce flakes. This is evident on the dorsal surfaces of the flakes and retouched forms. 5) Flakes are mostly broad and unstandardized. 6) Retouched tools are frequently made on angular debris and thermal shards, as well as flakes. These blanks are often thicker, but some thin flakes have also been used and retouched. 7) Hominins often thinned the dorsal and/or ventral surfaces of thick blanks. 8) In the Spear Horizon, some of the retouched artifacts show similar forms. A degree of standardization can be seen on the edges of the abandoned, retouched tools. This signature is a consequence of repeated retouching and re-sharpening. 9) The tool spectrum is dominated by scrapers, points, and notched or denticulated pieces. 10) The notches are made with only one or possibly a few direct blows. 11) Despite the absence of tools made on flakes from prepared cores, many of the scrapers are carefully made and call to mind tools from the Middle Paleolithic. 12) The retouch from the scrapers is mostly abrupt, stepped, or scalar, but some thin flakes and chips also show the repeated use of flat retouch. 13) Flakes and chips with diffuse bulbs and lips on the ventral surface demonstrate the repeated application of the soft hammer percussion technique, in addition to the more common hard hammer percussion. 14) Only a few pieces have been worked bifacially, and handaxes €ningen. are entirely lacking in the assemblages from Scho 15) The absence of classical cores and clear production debris such as cortical flakes, as well as the low numbers of stone
Please cite this article in press as: Serangeli, J., Conard, N.J., The behavioral and cultural stratigraphic contexts of the lithic assemblages from € ningen, Journal of Human Evolution (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.07.004 Scho
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€ ningen 13 IIe4: 1) Scraper on flake, ventral thinned (ID 25975); 2) Point on a shard; 3) Flake with dorsal and ventral retouch; 4e6) Scrapers on flakes; 7) Natural Figure 3. Scho shard with evidences of frost (ID 26022); 8) Scraper on massive flake, proximal dorsal thinned; 9e20) Flakes and chips with evident lip and diffuse bulb (9:ID 25577 and 25566; 10:ID 4666; 11:ID 25572; 12:ID 25373; 13:ID 25488; 14:ID 25364; 15:ID 25372; 16:ID 25365; 17:ID 25568; 18:ID 26220; 19:ID 26317; 20:ID 5122). Drawings 1, 7, 9e20: S. Boos; Drawings 2e6 and 8: B. Kaletsch (Thieme, 1999).
tools compared with the high number of small flakes, chips, and debris created by retouching, is due to the fact that the site represents the end of the use cycle, and the hominins, therefore, rarely generated long reduction sequences. This is further emphasized by the use of natural spalls and thermally broken chunks of flint as blanks for tools. 16) Several artifacts show thermal damage after they were abandoned. In some cases these spalls cut across and damage
carefully retouched edges. This class of finds and the spalls originating from them may help us reconstruct the site for€ningen. mation processes at Scho €ningen 17) While temporal trends are difficult to identify in Scho and all the finds date to the Reinsdorf interglacial (MIS 9 ca. 320,000e300,000 years ago), the tools from the upper part of the sequence (Fig. 4) often document the use of finer retouch and soft hammer percussion. The latter observation
Please cite this article in press as: Serangeli, J., Conard, N.J., The behavioral and cultural stratigraphic contexts of the lithic assemblages from € ningen, Journal of Human Evolution (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.07.004 Scho
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€ ningen 12 II: 1 and 5) Denticulated pieces on shards; 3) Flakes with retouch from use (ID 13632); 4) Pointed scraper on flake; 6) Flake with partial bifacial processing; Figure 4. Scho 7) Miniature bifaces with three-edged tip; 8 and 9) shards with notches (ID 13742 and ID 13725); 10) Flake core with evidences of secondary use maybe to hack (ID 13767); 2, 11, and €ningen 12 IIe1; 4 and 14 from 13) Flakes (ID 13701, ID 16520, and ID 18613); 12) Flake produced by retouching (ID 15920); 14) Retouched “core” tool (ID 18632). 1e3, 5e13 from Scho €ningen 12 IIe2. Drawings 1e10: B. Kaletsch (Thieme, 1996, 1999); Drawings 11e14: S. Boos. Scho
may reflect a different access to raw materials present in the more open environment of a climatically colder and drier context during the late interglacial phase, as opposed to a forested environment with dense vegetation in a warmer and more humid phase of the interglacial.
€ ningen in a regional context 7. Scho After reviewing the main characteristics of the lithic assem€ningen, we can now place them within a broader blages from Scho
context of sites from the Middle Pleistocene of central Europe. Here we do not discuss the many small assemblages of poorly stratified and poorly documented sites, but only some of the more important points of reference. The lithic assemblage from Bilzingsleben (District Artern, € ningen. The Thuringia) has many similarities with those from Scho € ningen, sites occupy similar lakeside settings; however, unlike Scho Bilzingsleben was adjacent to a travertine marsh. Mania and Thieme (2007) argue that Bilzingsleben II, the main concentration € ningen IIe1. at the site, dates to the same climatic phase as Scho Musil (2007) concludes on the basis of studies of the horses
Please cite this article in press as: Serangeli, J., Conard, N.J., The behavioral and cultural stratigraphic contexts of the lithic assemblages from € ningen, Journal of Human Evolution (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.07.004 Scho
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€ningen and Bilzingsleben that these recovered from the sites in Scho sites are indeed of about the same age, with Bilzingsleben II slightly €ningen II. van Kolfschoten's (2012) study of the predating Scho microfauna from both sites confirms that the sites are of similar age. Based upon the numerous, published lithic artifacts from Bil€ningen, the following points can be zingsleben and those from Scho noted. Baltic (Nordic) flint is the dominant raw material at both sites (Pasda, 2012). Hominins at both sites frequently used naturally broken flint including thermal spalls as blanks for retouched artifacts (Steguweit, 2003). While Mania reported sporadic use of the Levallois method at Bilzingsleben (Mania and Mania, 1999), Steguweit (2003), who also studied this material, found no evidence of this. Valoch (2000) also writes that Levallois products are lacking. The lithic artifacts from Bilzingsleben are often small in size. Angular debris accounts for more than 19% of the assemblage € ningen, scrapers, points, (Valoch, 2000). As is the case at Scho notched pieces, and denticulates dominate the retouched forms in Bilzingsleben. Drills are also relatively well documented at Bilzingsleben, and some artifacts have been interpreted as knives or even as a Keilmesser (backed bifacial knives). Bilzingsleben also lacks handaxes, although here a bifacially retouched bone tool warrants mention (Mania, 1995). The lithic assemblages at € ningen and Bilzingsleben document similar technology and a Scho similar spectrum of retouched forms. € ningen is the Hundisburg The nearest site comparable to Scho € rde, Saxon-Anhalt). The raw material used gravel pit (District Bo here is exclusively locally occurring Baltic flint from the gravels of the Elbe. During research, spread over more than a century, excavators and collectors have recovered several hundred artifacts (Wiegers, 1907; Ertmer, 2011, 2012). The excavated artifacts usually came from a gravel horizon that is interspersed with numerous layers of fine sand rich in remains of clams and snails. The geological age of this layer has long been controversial. According to recent studies including excavations in the years 2005, 2006, and 2009 of the archaeological layers at Hundisburg, the lithic assemblages originate from the early Saalian (Ertmer, 2011, 2012). Thus, the artifacts from Hundisburg are slightly younger than those of € ningen. Levallois-prepared core technology, two bifacial artiScho facts, a Keilmesser, and some scrapers led Ertmer to place the finds within the Middle Paleolithic. The artifacts show a high proportion of faceted striking platforms. If one compares the assemblages from € ningen and Hundisburg, the latter seems to represent a more Scho recent phase of the Paleolithic, an interpretation consistent with the geological and chronological setting of the site. The Middle Pleistocene site Bad Cannstatt near Stuttgart, and particularly the “Bunker” site, can be mentioned in this context. Here Wagner (1995) recovered many choppers made mostly of limestone (Jurakalk and Muschelkalk), several micro-choppers and some scrapers with cortex made from local flint, and a single Levallois flake, but no handaxes. They appear, as is the case in € ningen, to be made quickly to meet the immediate needs of the Scho hominins who used the locality (Wagner, 1995). Due to the difference in raw materials and the presence of chipped river cobbles, the stone artifacts from Bad Cannstatt look much coarser than those in € ningen. Scho The well-known site of Markkleeberg in the Pleiße drainage, a tributary of the Elster in Saxony, was discovered in 1895 and was for many years the center of scientific discussion on the Lower and €fer et al., 2004). The Middle Paleolithic in eastern Germany (Scha site is stratigraphically placed at the beginning of the Saalian and local Baltic flint is the dominant raw material. The lithic artifacts clearly document the presence of Levallois technology and the site played a central role in Bosinski's redefinition of the Middle Paleolithic to include assemblages from the early Saalian (Bosinski,
9
1967; Sch€ afer et al., 2004). A comparison between the lithic as€ningen shows that the semblages from Markkleeberg with Scho former has a higher number of flakes, Levallois flakes, and Levallois cores, whereas angular debris and the use of thermal spalls is more € ningen. At this stage in our study of the lithic ascommon at Scho €ningen we prefer not to indulge in comparisons semblages in Scho with similar but more distant sites. Many of the parameters such as the availability and quality of raw materials, age, as well as climate and environmental contexts change considerably and hinder comparisons on a continental scale. 8. Discussion and conclusion Although this is not the time or place to present a general discussion about the definition of the Lower and Middle Paleolithic, a few remarks are certainly warranted in connection with the as€ ningen. The lithic artifacts from Scho €ningen semblages from Scho come from multiple find horizons, with only the main archaeological horizon, the Spear Horizon, providing more than a few dozen artifacts. Nonetheless, based on our excavations since 2008 and the sparse information available in the publications on Thieme's excavations, the assemblages appear to reflect a consistent technological signature and can likely be treated as belonging to the same general technocomplex of the Reinsdorf interglacial. This is the case even though the upper stratigraphic horizons contain a more diverse range of finer artifacts with carefully retouched edges. These assemblages date to approximately 300,000 years ago and fall on cusp between the Lower and Middle €ningen Paleolithic. While Thieme (2003, 2007) always placed Scho in the Lower Paleolithic, other scholars suggest, based on chronostratigraphic and typological grounds, that the assemblages € ris and Baales, show characteristics of the Middle Paleolithic (Jo 2003). While we acknowledge that this question is not of central importance for the interpretation of the archaeological sites at €ningen and some researchers such as Müller-Beck (1956) Scho reject the distinction between the Lower and Middle Paleolithic altogether, we favor placing the assemblages within the late Lower € ningen localities is not Paleolithic. The lack of handaxes at the Scho critical in this context because Acheulean assemblages are nearly non-existent in the German and central European Lower Paleolithic (Conard et al., 2011; Rocca, 2013). Contrary to the expectations from Western Europe, handaxes of the Jungacheul een of central Europe are the hallmark of Middle Paleolithic assemblages and are typically accompanied by well-developed Levallois technology, as has long been argued by Bosinski (1967, 2009) and other researchers (Conard and Fischer, 2000). Following Bosinski, we favor using the presence of Levallois technology as the primary criteria for identifying the start of the Middle Paleolithic within the third-to-last glacial of MIS 8. This, however, should not be taken to assume that all Middle Paleolithic assemblages in Germany contain Levallois technology, because this is not the case. Given the chronostratigraphic placement of the €ningen in MIS 9 and the complete lack of assemblages from Scho Levallois technology, we argue for maintaining Thieme's interpretation that attributes the assemblages to the late Lower Paleolithic, despite the presence of a relatively high abundance of scrapers, notches, and denticulates that bear some resemblance to the typical retouched forms of the Middle Paleolithic. The most salient aspect of our current state of knowledge on the lithic artifacts is the very small size of the assemblages from the €ningen. Here we have presented the artifacts many localities at Scho from our ongoing excavations together with those drawn from the published record of Thieme's excavations. Clearly, a more defined assessment will only be possible when the lithic artifacts recovered
Please cite this article in press as: Serangeli, J., Conard, N.J., The behavioral and cultural stratigraphic contexts of the lithic assemblages from € ningen, Journal of Human Evolution (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.07.004 Scho
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from the excavations between 1992 and 2007 have been studied and published in more detail. € ningen is not a single Finally, we wish to emphasize that Scho site, but rather an archaeological landscape from the Reinsdorf Interglacial. Some of the 24 archaeological assemblages were excavated quickly in rescue operations without waterscreening, while other localities have been excavated slowly and carefully with waterscreening. Some of the localities (see Serangeli et al., 2015) have no lithic artifacts at all, and others have comparatively large numbers of artifacts. Nonetheless, even the richest locality, the Spear Horizon, represents a site with a low density of lithic artifacts. Without the remarkable faunal and botanical finds and the exceptional preservation of the sites due to their being preserved underwater until recently, the lithic assemblages would probably never have attracted the attention of archaeologists and the various surfaces would never have been excavated. Within every locality, the find density lies well below one artifact per square meter. This is the case even when all the small and microdebitage from waterscreening is considered. €ningen provides us with a signature of diverse activities Scho ranging from butchering to wood and hide working, as well as the re-sharpening and maintenance of flint tools (Rots et al., 2015). Nowhere have long sequences of primary reduction been documented, instead we are looking typically at distal phases of the procurement, production, use, modification, and discard cycles. As progress is made on studying the different classes of finds and their € ningen will spatial and chronological contexts, the localities in Scho join those from Boxgrove (Roberts and Parfitt, 1999) as the only well-preserved archeological landscapes from the Lower Paleolithic that have been examined over large-scale excavations. Given its €ningen exceptional preservation, the landscape archaeology in Scho during the Reinsdorf Interglacial will serve as a valuable reference documenting a high-resolution record of hominin activities about 300,000 years ago. As work on this class of finds progresses, the lithic assemblages will increasingly be integrated into the narrative of how hominins from the Middle Pleistocene of central Europe used the landscape and organized their social and economic behavior. Acknowledgments €chsisches LandThe authors would like to thank the Niedersa esamt für Denkmalpflege (NLD, Lower Saxony State Service for Cultural Heritage) for close and always positive cooperation, and the Lower Saxony State Ministry of Science and Culture (MWK) for € ningen.” In the years 2010 the generous funding of the “Project Scho to the end of 2013 the excavation was co-financed by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation), Project CO 226/22-1. Furthermore, we would like to express our €hner, K. Felix Hillgruber, Jens Lehmann, Thomas gratitude to Utz Bo Terberger (NLD, Hannover), as well as the excavation team (Wolf€ rg Neumann Giesen, Neil Haycock, Wolfgang Bergang Mertens, Jo kemer, Martin Kursch, Dennis Mennella) for their contribution to € ningen Project. the Scho References €olithischen Funde im westlichen Mitteleuropa. Bosinski, G., 1967. Die mittelpala € hlau Verlag, Ko € ln, Graz. Fundamenta A4. Bo Bosinski, G., 2009. Urgeschichte am Rhein. Tübinger Monographien zur Urgeschichte. Kernsverlag, Tübingen. Conard, N.J., Bolus, M., Chang, J., 2011. Where's the Acheulean? Bifacial Technology in Germany. Abstracts for the 2nd International Symposium of Bifaces of the Lower and Middle Pleistocene of the World, Jeongok (Korea), April 30eMay 5, 2011, pp. 88e89. Conard, N.J., Fischer, B., 2000. Are there recognizable cultural entities in the German Middle Palaeolithic? In: Ronewn, A., Weinstein-Evron, M. (Eds.), Toward
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Please cite this article in press as: Serangeli, J., Conard, N.J., The behavioral and cultural stratigraphic contexts of the lithic assemblages from € ningen, Journal of Human Evolution (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.07.004 Scho